OMG, Part 1: The Worship Practices Of A Righteous Man

Introduction- Man vs. Male

Dondre Whitfield in his book “Male vs. Man:  How To Honor Women, Teach Children, And Elevate Men To Change The World” writes…

Spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically, we have to seek our wellness. A Man has to be conscious of these four areas and pursue perfection in them.

Now I hope you read that sentence carefully. I didn’t say he had to be perfect. I said he has to “pursue perfection.” We are not perfect, and we never will be. However, what we can do consistently is pursue perfection.

To pursue perfection spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically is to ensure that you are an authentic, thriving Man.

If manhood were a recipe, these would be the big “four at the core” of the secret sauce (with all due respect to responsibility and accountability, of course). They render us helpless or hopeful psychologically, socially, and sexually.

These areas dictate how we show up in our relationships, family life, workplace, and community. They inform the way we deal with any and all things. I know that was a lot!

generally, a grown male looks to be served, while a Man looks to be of service.

Jesus Modeled True Manly Worship Of God

Luke 2:44–49 ESV

44 but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, 45 and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” 49 And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

Luke 10:21–22 ESV

21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

Transition To Body- Psalmist Exhortation & Testimony of His Deliverance

The Man’s Exhortation

exhorting- to incite by argument or advice : urge strongly

Before this man, the psalmist arrives at the temple, it is as if he is commanding everyone to Give Thanks to the LORD because….

Psalm 118:1–4 ESV

1 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! 2 Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” 3 Let the house of Aaron say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” 4 Let those who fear the Lord say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”

Why is the Psalmist so thankful?

The Man’s Testimony- The LORD’S Hand Has Been Upon My Life

Psalm 118:5 The LORD Set Me Free

Psalm 118:6-7 The LORD Is My Helper

Psalm 118:8-9 The LORD Can Be Trusted

Psalm 118:10-13 The LORD’S Name Has Power

Psalm 118:14-16 The LORD Delivered Me

Psalm 118:17-18 The LORD Has Been Improving Me

The Psalmist Is Having an OMG moment

In different contexts the offensiveness of this phrase can vary from mild to blasphemous, with a greater degree of variety than comparable phrases due to its invocation of deity. Common euphemisms are oh my gosh, omigosh and oh my goodness.

Likely to be offensive to devout Muslims, Christians, and Jews due to invoking God's name in a secular way.

Said in supplication.

2 (potentially offensive) An expression of anger, frustration, excitement, shock, awe, dismay, etc. 

Oh My God, O My God, Oh My God! or Ohmigod may refer to:

the first words of the Act of Contrition, a Christian prayer

a common phrase frequently abbreviated as "OMG", often used in SMS messages and Internet communication, and sometimes euphemised as "Oh my Goodness" or "Oh my Gosh". The first attested use of the abbreviation O.M.G. was in a letter from John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher to Winston Churchill in 1917.

Body- The Worship Practices Of A Righteous Man- He

Enters The Sanctuary To Authentically Praise The LORD (Ps 118:19-20)

Psalm 118:19–20 ESV

19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. 20 This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it.

How We Enter The Sanctuary Matters

Psalm 100:4–5 ESV

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! 5 For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

Whom Can Enter The Sanctuary To Worship God?

Psalm 15:1–5 ESV

1 O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? 2 He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart; 3 who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; 4 in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord; who swears to his own hurt and does not change; 5 who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.

Jesus Is The Door Of His Sheep

John 10:7 ESV

7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

John 10:9–11 ESV

9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

{

Enters The Sanctuary To Authentically Praise The LORD (Ps 118:19-20)

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Publicly Thanks The LORD For Answered Prayer (Ps. 118:21)

Psalm 118:21 ESV

21 I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.

Jesus said

Luke 18:1 ESV

1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

The Apostle Paul said

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 ESV

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

The Sanctuary Is A Place Of Prayer

Mark 11:17 ESV

17 And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.”

Isaiah 56:6–7 ESV

6 “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant— 7 these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”

{

Enters The Sanctuary To Authentically Praise The LORD (Ps 118:19-20)

Publicly Thanks The LORD For Answered Prayer (Ps. 118:21)

}

Joyfully Adores The LORD For His Amazing Power (Ps. 118:22-25)

Psalm 118:22–25 ESV

22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 23 This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success!

To next point After the psalmist sings all of this, the people in vv1-4 now join him, all together, in singing praises to the LORD

Psalm 118:1–4 ESV

1 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! 2 Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” 3 Let the house of Aaron say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” 4 Let those who fear the Lord say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”

This reversal of fortune so amazed the Lord’s righteous people (v. 20) that they are prompted to join the psalmist in praising the Lord for what he has done.

 Daniel J. Estes, Psalms 73–150, ed. E. Ray. Clendenen, vol. 13 of New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2019), 395.

Adore- as in to love, cherish, worship, deify, to feel passion, devotion, or tenderness for.

Marvelous- be wonderful, be marvelous, be amazing, i.e., pertaining to an attitude of great surprise and awe over an event or person

Psalm 27:4 ESV

4 One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.

Psalm 27:13 ESV

13 I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!

An Attitude Of Rejoicing

Psalm 118:24 ESV

24 This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

rejoice, be glad, be joyful, i.e., be in a state of an attitude or feeling of favorable circumstance

Glad- rejoice, be glad, delight in, be elated, i.e., have a feeling or attitude of joy and happiness, with a possible focus of making an outward expression of that joy

118:24 This day for rejoicing has been made by the Lord, who by his extraordinary intervention on behalf of the psalmist has created this opportunity for his thankful people to praise him. They now experience at the public service of thanksgiving at the temple the same kind of joy the people of Israel had previously experienced in their tents at the Red Sea (vv. 14–15). The thankful people of God come together to remember the goodness of the Lord and to publicly rejoice in it.

 Daniel J. Estes, Psalms 73–150, ed. E. Ray. Clendenen, vol. 13 of New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2019), 395.

Make A Joyful Noise!

Psalm 100:1–2 ESV

1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!

Give Us Success as Men of God…..

Psalm 118:25 ESV

25 Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success!

118:25 Even as the righteous people thank the Lord for what he has done for the psalmist, they also acknowledge their continuing need for him (cf. Ps 138:8). In their spirit of gratitude, they call on the Lord to deliver them and prosper them, confident the Lord prospers those who seek and obey him faithfully (cf. Josh 1:8; 2 Chr 26:5; Ps 1:3).

 Daniel J. Estes, Psalms 73–150, ed. E. Ray. Clendenen, vol. 13 of New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2019), 395.

Joshua 1:8 ESV

8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

2 Chronicles 26:5 ESV

5 He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper.

Psalm 1:1–3 ESV

1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

{

Enters The Sanctuary To Authentically Praise The LORD (Ps 118:19-20)

Publicly Thanks The LORD For Answered Prayer (Ps. 118:21)

Joyfully Adores The LORD For His Amazing Power (Ps. 118:22-25)

}

Oh Give Thanks!

Psalm 118:1 ESV

1 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

Psalm 118:29 ESV

29 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

Transition To Close- A Righteous Man Lifts Up Holy Hands

In Every Place The Men Should Pray

1 Timothy 2:8 ESV

8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;

1 Timothy 2:1–6 ESV

1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.

Close- The Precious Cornerstone

Isaiah 28:16 ESV

16 therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’

Chosen & Precious In The Sight Of God

1 Peter 2:4–6 ESV

4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

The Holy & Righteous One

Acts 3:13–15 ESV

13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.